Let Me Breathe
by lunarbullets
Summary: She tried to utter a few words of thanks but found that she could not speak. Tears of gratitude leaked from her eyes, and she jumped onto an unsuspecting Gajeel, who faltered from surprise and then hurriedly wrapped his muscular arms around the female's lithe form."T-thank y-you…" He grinned, glancing at the tiny girl in his arms. GajEvy. Scientist/inventor/mechanic AU.


**Heya, Everyone!**

 **I promised a GajEvy a few days ago, and here I am! :D**

 **This is an alternate universe in which Levy is a inventor/scientist and Gajeel is her mechanic, or the person who builds her machines that she designs. I had a lot of fun writing this one, finishing it rather quickly.**

 **More shall be said afterwards, now, on to the story!**

* * *

 **Let Me Breathe**

The inky pen quivered in her grip, every letter staining, smudging across the thick papers, but the girl gave no notice. The azure glasses perched upon her nose repeatedly slid down, her trembling hands reaching up to push them back up.

The wooden door creaked open, and Levy McGarden gasped, gaze shooting up, her sweaty palms shuffling through the papers, sending a whirl of parchment sweeping through the air. The beat of her heart increased, racing as her eyes locked with the man's ones by the door.

Instantly registering his wild and unruly locks, crimson orbs, and tall structure, she calmed down slightly, realizing that it was only her mechanic, Gajeel Redfox.

"Oi, Shrimp. Are you panicking again?" Levy flushed, muttering incoherent words under her breath, scurrying from her seat to collect the shafts of papers that had silently drifted to the floor. Steadily avoiding Gajeel's burning stare, she bent down onto her knees, small hands grasping and crinkling papers as she hurriedly scooped them up, straightening.

She was met by scarlet eyes piercing into her own, and giving a shriek of alarm, Levy staggered backward, glasses crashing down, letting go of the bundle she had just created, the papers drifting back to the ground. Her back hit her desk and she toppled over, just barely surviving a large bruise when Gajeel reached out lazily, seizing her ankle and pulling her back.

"Really, Shrimp, I don't see why you're so frightened of me." Breathing heavily, Levy once again scrambled, kneeling to snatch the leaflets up, sending the mechanic a harsh glare, setting the plastic frame upon her nose once again. Gajeel seemed to be unfazed, he merely leaned over and tugged a curl of lapis, causing her to squeal and swat him away.

"Why am I nervous? Why wouldn't I be?! This is the first time I've been chosen to showcase my creations to such a high and lofty institute! What if they think that it's stupid, or what if it stops working in the middle of my presentation, that would be horrid. Or-" Letting out a groan of distaste and hopelessness, Levy sank down onto her chair, face buried in small hands.

A warm and rough palm placed itself onto Levy's azure curls, she immediately recognized it as Gajeel's. Moving her fingers just a crack, the female inventor peered half-heartedly through her fingers at the little, metal, spindly creature before them.

"Hey, it's going to be fine." His slightly harsh-toned voice that she had grown to love attempted to calm her down, just barely succeeding. Sliding her palms from her face, she flopped in her seat, eyes blurring with tears that she furiously blinked away.

Gajeel removed his hand, instead resting his elbow on the short girl's head, much to her exasperation. Making no attempt at knocking his arm away, Levy tugged a few papers toward her, positioning her glasses, glancing down at the sentences scrawled down in bold cobalt and black ink. Her hands flew as she tried to keep them up with her eyes, enhanced with her special reading glasses, an invention of her own, the Gale-Force Reading Glasses, which enabled the reader to read at an extremely rapid pace.

The glasses frames were simple enough, mildly wide, different shades to choose from, the only unique feature were the winged corners that perked from the edges. But the design wasn't what was important; it was the lens, which she had experimented with for months; until she had perfected them, coming out with five models; all with their own different speeds.

Her weakest lens would enable the reader to read two times as fast, and her strongest would allow the person to scan the pages one hundred-twenty time quicker.

It was a creation she was very proud of, and as she fondly fingered the apricot frame, Levy recalled how it had only been a few months since Gajeel had agreed to become her mechanic. Out of gratitude, she had titled the invention by joining both of their names, attaching them together, to create the name "Gale."

Levy hadn't told the scarlet-eyed man ever, but she was sure he had figured it.

Fingers tapping the papers, she sighed, pushing them away, taking off the glasses, setting it down softly on the wooden desk. Rubbing her forehead, she groaned, her head throbbing with pain.

"I'm going to screw up so bad. The audience will absolutely leer at me and tell me to go away." Levy's vision blurred again, her petite body trembling with fear. She could barely hear Gajeel call out to her, all sounds seemingly replaced with static.

 _I can't do this, I'll just embarrass myself, everyone will laugh… This is useless…_ Thoughts rushed into her mind, whispering to her to give up and walk back.

"Oi, Shrimp! Look at me! Levy!" The cobalt-locked girl snapped out of her daze, hazel orbs darting everywhere, until locking onto Gajeel, who had seized her shoulders, staring into her eyes. She shouted, startled, her back pressed flush against the armchair.

"G-Gajeel!" A crimson coating dusted her nose and cheeks as she registered his closeness to her, their noses nearly brushing. Screeching, Levy smacked him with the bronze valise that hung off her body, causing him to stagger back, clutching his cheek in pain.

"Shrimp, why'd you hit me?" He squawked, moaning in annoyance.

"Why were you so close!" She countered, face flushed. Her shaking had ceased, thanks to Gajeel, but her mind was not at peace just yet.

Stumbling back to her, the male ignored his bruised cheek, instead bending down so he could gaze straight into her eyes once more.

"Gajeel, what did I say about being so c-close—!?" Placing a finger to her lips, Levy shrunk back, as Gajeel brought his mouth close to ears, whispering, consoling her.

"Look, Shrimp. I don't know why you're so worried, but what I do know is that you're one of the smartest girls in the world. Whatever they do, that doesn't mean you're not good. If this institute declines your work, well… They're stupid for turning away such a talented girl, you got it? And if you're still nervous, just remember I'm gonna be standing right beside you, supporting you."

The warm words curled into Levy's ears, her slender fingers twitching. Her cheeks felt hot, only inflamed more after Gajeel blew an extra breath of air into her ear and pulled away, smirking.

"G-Gajeel—" She attempted to utter a few words of thanks but found that she had become completely tongue-tied. Tears of gratitude leaked from the corner of her eyes, and she bolted from her place, leaping onto an unsuspecting Gajeel, who faltered from surprise and then hurriedly wrapped his muscular arms around the female's lithe form.

"T-thank y-you…" Gajeel grinned, glancing at the tiny girl encased in his arms.

"No need for thanks, Shrimp. You have the greatest mechanic by your side, so you wouldn't be able to do anything, _but_ impress everyone." At his words, Levy giggled, lightly smacking him in mock disapproval.

Embracing her a bit more tightly, he then lowered her to the ground, not missing the disappointment that flickered across Levy's expression.

"You better get prepared, Shrimp. You don't have much time left." Levy gasped, clasping a pale hand over her lips, then quickly nodding.

"You're right!" Scurrying around the room, a bright smile flashed across her lips.

Gajeel's words had given her hope.

* * *

Levy clutched the roll of papers in her palms, blinking quickly, sweating. Granted, she was not as nervous as she had been beforehand, but the pressure was getting to her. Shooting a look to see Gajeel beside her, he patted her shoulder, calming her slightly, but not entirely.

"The world is gonna be shocked by you, just you watch, Shrimp." A ghost of smile swept across her lips, and she chuckled, gazing down.

"I-I hope so."

Fidgeting with the brass buttons on her clothes, she looked up to catch sight of the time. _**6:58**_ **.** Her heart picked up its pace. Two minutes until she would strut out to the stage, unveiling her creation. Two minutes until her future would be decided. Her gaze went to Gajeel, then dropped down to his large hands.

An idea sparked, and she hesitantly reached out, the tips of her fingers just brushing against the skin of his hand. Gajeel jolted but made no move to push her away, so she persisted, moving her own hand, so her knuckles bumped against his. Slowly gripping his hand, she twisted it to his palm, so she could smoothly slide her fingers through the cracks in his.

Levy's hold tightened, her nails digging into his skin, causing him to wince. She immediately loosened it.

"S-sorry! Am I holding too tightly or hurting you? If you don't want to, I'll…" Trailing off when she felt a large hand grip her tiny one, Gajeel sent her something like a smile.

"Ghi-hi, I don't mind, Tiny." Levy lit up, her face glowing with exhilaration.

"Thank—"

Just before she could speak, a thin and wispy lady bolted into the backstage, whispering urgently that it was Levy's time.

Levy nodded firmly, her small hand being dwarfed by Gajeel's large one, but she liked it that way.

And as she walked out to the stage, the onyx-locked man by her side, their names being called and cheers from the audience, she felt her anxiety fade away, replaced with newfound confidence.

And she had never felt more accomplished as she whisked off the cover shielding her invention, proudly entering it into the world.

" _I'm certain that this creation will change the world and mark a place for itself in the future; introducing: Gajevy 1.0!"_

 **The End**

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 **I already know what everyone is thinking: The GaLe and GajEvy inventions. Allow me to explain. I had originally planned that Levy would be the inventor of the Gale Force Reading Glasses in this story. Then, I realized that the name was one of the pair's ship name: GaLe. That got me thinking that Levy named it as a combination of their name in here, and that whatever her creation that she showcased here was, it would be called Gajevy, as in their other ship name: GajEvy. Smart or stupid? I... Don't know. XD**

 **Aside from that I hoped you enjoyed, and be sure to review and tell me how this was! ^^**

 **My next story will either be a GrUvia or another GajEvy, so be sure to watch out for them!**

 _ **\- CelestialScript**_


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